Lighthouses of China: Jiāxīng and Níngbō,
Zhèjiāng

The Chinese province of Zhèjiāng (formerly spelled Chekiang)
occupies the central coast of the country, south of Shànghǎi and north
of the Formosa Strait. The province faces east on the East China Sea.
For the most part the coastline is hilly and irregular, with more than
3000 islands of all sizes offshore.

Hángzhōu Bay is a large funnel-shaped embayment at the northern end
of the province. At its western end, it narrows to the estuary of the
Qiántángjiāng (Qiántáng River), which leads to the city of Hángzhōu.
On its southern edge, the Yǒngjiāng (Yǒng River) leads to the major port
of Zhènhǎi and the city of Níngbō. This page describes lighthouses standing
on or near the shores of the bay, both north and south. The Directory
also has a series of four pages covering the numerous islands of the
Zhōushān archipelago, which is spread across the mouth of the bay. North
to south, these pages cover the Shèngsì and Qíqū
Islands,
the Dàishān
Islands, the Zhōushān
Island Area, and the Southeastern Zhōushān Islands.
I am much indebted to Michel Forand for his research on all these areas.

Lighthouses in China are maintained by the PRC
Maritime Safety Administration. The administration is organized
in four regional administrations, with offices in the major ports.
All the lights on this page are maintained by the Zhènhǎi MSA office.

The pinyin system for transliterating Chinese into Latin characters
is now the international standard, but some locations continue to be
known also under the spellings of older transliteration systems.
The Chinese word for a lighthouse is dēngtǎ (灯塔). In pinyin jiāo (formerly chiao) is a reef or rock, jiǎo is a cape or headland, dǎo (tao)
is an island; yǔ (tsu) is a small island, wān is a bay and gǎng (kang) is a harbor.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS
World List of Lights. CN numbers are Chinese light list numbers.
Admiralty numbers are from volume P of the Admiralty List of Lights
& Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

The Shànghǎi MSA provides this access to its database of information on navigational aids: enter a range of CN numbers in the lower pair of boxes and click on the search box below. All information is in Chinese.

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12.5 m (41 ft); white flash every
4 s. 6 m (20 ft) round masonry tower, painted white. No photo available,
but Google has a satellite view. Located on an island just off Jiǔlóngshān. The island is the site of a Buddhist temple and is connected to the mainland by a spectacular arched footbridge. Site status unknown.
CN-2267.

Guāncáijiāo (Coffin Reef)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two white flashes every 5 s. 13 m (43 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower, painted black with one red horizontal band. A distant view is available (in the foreground is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid sculpture; the original by Edvard Eriksen is in Copenhagen harbor, Denmark). Bing has a satellite view. Located on a reef about 600 m (0.4 mi) south of the Wàipúshān light. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. CN-2267.1; Admiralty P3718.53; NGA 18887.

2007. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white flash every 3 s. 8
m (26 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery, painted with
red and white horizontal bands. Shànghǎi MSA's photo is at right,
and Google has a satellite view. This light marks a sudden narrowing of the bay. Located on
an island off a prominent cape about 10 km (6 mi) south of Haiyan.
Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2271.92; Admiralty P3718.489.

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); continuous white light.
31 m (102 ft) round concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. This is a leading light, seen only by ships approaching from the north northeast. Located
at Shàngyú, about halfway between Hángzhōu and Zhènhǎi. Site status unknown.
CN-2286.1; Admiralty P3716.695.

Wángpánshān (Wángpán Shān, Xiàpánshān)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); two white flashes every
6 s. 11 m (36 ft) round fiberglass tower, colored with red and white horizontal
bands. No photo available, but Google has a satellite
view. Wángpánshān is
an islet near the western end of Hángzhōu Bay, about 16 km (10 mi) north
of the Cíxī mainland, about 25 km (15 mi) south of Jīnshān, and
20 km (13 mi) east of the Hángzhōu
Bay Bridge. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2289; Admiralty P3718.4.

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 39 m (128 ft); white flash every 3 s.
14 m (46 ft) round cylindrical white concrete tower with gallery. An MSA photo is at right, Google
has a good satellite
view. This light marks the west end of a dangerous reef. Located atop
the westernmost of the Chángtán islands, about 32 km (20 mi) north northwest
of Zhènhǎi. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2293; Admiralty P3716.64.

Dōnghuòshān (Dōnghuò Shān, Tung-ho Shān)

2007. Active; focal plane 55 m (180 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 8
m (26 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery, painted with
red and white horizontal bands. No photo available, but Google has a satellite
view. This light marks
the eastern end of the same reef marked by the Qījiěbāmèi lighthouse. Sibling of the Ménshān Light (see photo above). Located
at the eastern end of Dōnghuòshān, an island about 30 km (19 mi) north of Zhènhǎi.
Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2337.4; Admiralty P3716.66; NGA 18908.7.

Note: Zhènhǎi is the port district of Níngbō,
a city of more than two million on the south side of Hángzhōu Bay.
Zhènhǎi's port facilities lie along both sides of the Yǒngjiāng (Yong
River) near its mouth; the center of Níngbō is about 25 km (15 mi)
upstream. British forces seized Zhènhǎi during the First Opium War
in 1841, and the port was opened to western trade by the Treaty of
Nanjing the following year.

* Qīlǐ Zhì (Tse-li, Square Island) (1)

1865 (British). Inactive since 1997. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal stone
tower with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white vertical
stripes; lantern painted white with a black dome. A photo is at the
top of this page, a 2012 photo is available, and Bing has a satellite
view. Qīlǐ is a small island about 6 km (3.5 mi) northeast of the
Yǒngjiāng and Zhènhǎi harbor entrance. When the new Qīlǐ lighthouse
was built, its historic predecessor was taken down and rebuilt on Little
Qīlǐ Island, just off the southwest tip of Qīlǐ and joined to it by
a footbridge. Site open, tower closed.

2006 (station established 1985). Active; focal plane 38 m (125 ft);
illuminated with neon lights showing red and yellow vertical stripes
the entire length of the tower. 34 m (112 ft) square skeletal tower.
The range lights can be seen in an aerial photo, and Google has a satellite
view. Located in a waterfront area on the north side of
the estuary entrance. Site status unknown. CN-2495; Admiralty P3715.2;
NGA 18930.

1997 Qīlǐ Zhì Light
PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo

Hǔdūnshān
(Hǔdūn Shān, Yǒngjiāng) Entrance Range Rear (2)

2006 (station established 1985). Active; focal plane 51.5 m (169
ft); illuminated with neon lights showing red and yellow vertical stripes
the entire length of the tower. 46 m (151 ft) square skeletal tower.
The range lights can be seen in an aerial photo, and Google has a satellite
view. Located in a waterfront area on the north side of
the estuary entrance. Site status unknown. CN-2508.

Zhāngjiànqì Upstream Range Front

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62
ft); continuous red light. 17.5 m (57 ft) square skeletal tower.
No photo available, but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on the north bank of the river just south of the Yǒngjiāng Tunnel. Site status unknown. CN-2508.

Zhāngjiànqì Range Common Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79
ft); continuous red light. 22.5 m (74 ft) square skeletal tower.
No photo available, and the tower has not been found in Google's indistinct satellite view. This is the rear light for both the upsteam and downstream ranges. Located about 500 m (0.3 mi) west of the front light. Site status unknown. CN-2509.

Zhāngjiànqì Upstream Range Front

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62
ft); continuous red light. 14 m (46 ft) square skeletal tower.
No photo available, and the tower has not been found in Google's indistinct satellite view. Located on the north bank of the river just south of the Yǒngjiāng Tunnel. Site status unknown. CN-2510.

* Zhènhǎi
Dùkǒu (Zhènhǎi Ferry)

2006. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); white flash every 10 s.
13 m (43 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted
white with red trim, lantern and gallery painted red. The photo
at right is from a former Shànghǎi MSA page
on the construction of the lighthouse, a 2012 photo is available, and Google has a satellite
view. This new light was built in traditional form to honor Zhènhǎi's
maritime heritage. Located on the west bank of the Yǒngjiāng near
the traditional ferry crossing in Zhènhǎi; the ferry remains in service
although there is now a bridge about 2 km (1.2 mi) downstream. Site
open, tower closed. CN-2503.5; Admiralty P3714.965;
NGA 18930.3.

* Jiāngnándàotóu

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two red flashes
every 4 s. 12 m (39 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery, mounted
on a square concrete pier. Lighthouse painted with red and white
horizontal bands. A photo
and a second photo are available, and Google has a satellite
view. Located on the east
side of the Yǒngjiāng near a bend in the estuary and almost directly
across from the Zhènhǎi Ferry lighthouse (see above). Site open,
tower closed. CN-2504; Admiralty P3714.97.

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 8.5 m (28 ft); white flash every 2 s. 8 m (26 ft) round cylindrical fiberglass tower colored with black and white horizontal bands. The light is in the lower right corner of a photo of the Zhaobaoshan Bridge, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a groin (usually submerged) just south of the east end of the bridge. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. CN-2502.

Yǒngjiāng
South Dyke Spur (2)

2006 (station established 1983). Active; focal plane 11 m (36 ft);
quick-flashing red light. 11 m (36 ft) round concrete tower with lantern
and gallery, painted red. Shànghǎi MSA's photo is seen at right, and Google has a satellite
view. The lighthouse replaced a red skeletal tower. Located at
the end of breakwater dike on the southeast side of the Yǒngjiāng entrance.
Site and tower closed. CN-2488; Admiralty P3714.9.

* Zhǎngtiàozuǐ (Changtiaozui)
(2)

1993 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 18
m (59 ft); four white flashes every 12 s. 16 m (52 ft) hexagonal cylindrical
concrete tower with gallery, rising from a square pyramidal concrete
base. Lighthouse covered with ceramic times and colored with red and
white vertical stripes. A view from the estuary is available, and Bing has a satellite
view. The light from this tower must be obscured to a great extent
by recent development of the waterfront. Located in an industrial zone
on the east side of the entrance to the Yǒngjiāng and the harbor
of Zhènhǎi. Accessible by road. Site probably open, tower closed. ARLHS
PRC-012; CN-2484; Admiralty P3715; NGA 18928.

Zhènhǎi District: Huángmǎng Islands Lighthouses
Note: The Huángmǎng islands are located in the passage between the
mainland and Jīntáng island (see Zhōushān Island
Area), east of the Yǒngjiāng entrance.

Zhōngzhùshān
(Zhōngzhù Shān)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); three white flashes
every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) round cylindrical white concrete tower with
gallery. A view from the sea is available, and Bing has a satellite
view. Located on Zhōngzhùshān, the westernmost of the Huángmǎng
Islands, about 1.5 km (1 mi) west of the Dàhuángmǎng lighthouse. Accessible
only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2402.5; Admiralty P3714.6; NGA
18922.

Běilún District: Dàxièdǎo Lighthouses
Note: Dàxièdǎo is an island about 7 km (4.5 mi) in diameter,
lying just off the mainland coast about 30 km (19 mi) east of Zhènhǎi.
The island is connected to the mainland by a bridge and is being developed
as a port to relieve pressure on Zhènhǎi and Níngbō. These lighthouses
guide vessels in the passage, about 6 km (3.5 mi) wide, between Dàxièdǎo
and Dàmāodǎo (see Zhōushān Island Area).

Běilún District: Zhitou Jiǎo (Cape Ketau)
Area Lighthouses
Note: Zhǐtou Jiǎo (Cape Ketau, or literally "Finger Cape"), at the end of the Chuanshān Peninsula
about 65 km (40 mi) east of Zhènhǎi, is the easternmost point of the
mainland south of Hángzhōu Bay.

Yángxiǎomāodǎo
(Yángxiǎomāo Dǎo) (2)

1991 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane
49 m (160 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 11 m (36 ft) hexagonal
cylindrical concrete tower with gallery. Lighthouse covered with
white ceramic tiles. MSA's photo is at right, a view from the mainland and a distant view from the sea are available, and Google has a satellite
view. Located on Yángxiǎomāodǎo, a small island about 2.5 km (1.5
mi) off Zhǐtou Jiǎo. Accessible only by boat, and landing is difficult.
Site and tower closed. CN-2473; Admiralty P3714.22; NGA 18956.